Hey everyone, Grant with Happy Tans again. I just wanted to talk about another question or issue that people are having. This one was pertaining to their clients following the instructions. After talking to a few people I think that a lot of that has to do with a couple of things, one, probably the way the clients are conditioned.
What I mean by that is the people that they’ve tanned within the past might not have had strict instructions, they might not have had any instructions at all. Their previous technicians may not have told them what types of soaps or products to use after their tan. They might not have been very professional, they might have just been a place where they went into a booth and got sprayed. It’s a different situation regardless, it’s time for them to change to your rules so to speak.
Secondly, obviously they may have forgotten, they may not think it’s serious so there are a few different things here. I think the main thing comes down to the fact that people don’t have a solid system in place for the way that they handle this among other things but we’ll start with this.
Everybody obviously schedules appointments differently, whether it’s phone, text, emails, through scheduling software, whatever that may be. With scheduling software, you have the ability to or you should have the ability to automatically send them out a thing that says, “Hey thanks for scheduling your appointment. Go to this link to check our pre and post tan instructions, or pre-tan care instructions in this play, and this situation.”
For people that are in the other situations, when you’re on the phone, maybe somebody calls to schedule an appointment. Do you have a process for that or is it just you fumbling across everything and saying, “oh, two days later. Oh crap, I’ve got to send them the pre-tan care instructions.”, or is it like, “As soon as we got the phone, soon as you make sure that you send me your email it’ll be a text. Then I’m going to take that and I’m going to send you an email with the pre-tan care instructions. It’s obviously very important that you follow this if you want to achieve the best tan possible.”? Make sure that it’s always mentioning them and just not excluding them because you want them to understand that it’s for them. We want to make sure that your tan is going to last long, we’re going to make sure that your tan doesn’t streak. We’re going to make sure that your tan fades properly, we’re going to make sure that you don’t turn orange. We’re going to make sure that you have the best tan possible.
You want to make sure that you’re really focusing on them because it is for them. If you create a solid system and process as to when the appointment is scheduled, I think that’s very important for making sure that you take care of that step one in the process.
When people come into you, maybe it’s their first time coming to you. They sign a consent form or whatnot, they may do it online beforehand, they may do it when they get there. Regardless, you want to make sure that there is another system in place there. Maybe you sit down with them when they come in, and it’s important for you to be assertive with this. Obviously, you can be as nice as possible, you need to be nice of them and take care of them, they’re your clients but you can be assertive and say, “You know, did you follow the instructions?” If they say no that’s a great time for you to educate them. By educating them you’re going to show them that you’re a professional, that you really understand what you’re talking about there. They’re going to have more respect for you.
If you’ve ever been to a service and been in the other shoes you know that if you go to somebody and they really understand what they’re talking about, they have a lot of knowledge in the background information about that topic you’re probably more apt to listen to what they have to say. If you really sit them down and say, “Hey look, I’m going to go ahead and spray tan you this time but since you didn’t follow the instructions I cannot guarantee the results are going to be as perfect or as good as they could be. The next time you come I want to make sure that you follow X Y and Z and do this. It’s really important and this is why.” Explain it to them and make sure that that makes sense to them. Take time with them so that they can understand that you care about them, as a client that will go a long way. Also that you know what you’re talking about.
With the post-tan care instructions, it’s the same thing. “Hey, thanks. You want to follow these instructions in order to achieve the best tan possible.” Make sure that you have this information on your website obviously. On your Facebook page, wherever you need to have it. However you handle that, that’s fine. If you can a hard copy as well, print a copy, something you can give out to them. Have a nice little flier, two-sided four by six card. Whatever it may be, have it made so you can hand it out to all your clients. I think that this will really help to clear it up.
If you come up with a solid process, and if you’re really assertive with the way that you handle that. Obviously, you’re going to be very nice and kind to them, they’re your clients but let them know why they have to do this. Be assertive and be confident in the reasons of why you’re saying that. That will really help them to address you and understand why they need to do that.
If you have any other questions you know where to find me. [email protected], you can contact me through the contact form on my website or you can find me on Facebook or anywhere else. Thank you very much.
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